CONGRATULATIONS TO THE 2015 PLATINUM PR WINNERS!

PR News celebrated the winners and honorable mentions of its 2015 Platinum PR Awards at the Marriott Marquis in New York City on Oct. 26, 2015. The Platinum PR Awards recognize the year’s most outstanding communicators, initiatives and organizations in the competitive PR arena. These coveted awards set a benchmark for excellence in communications.

2015 Platinum Hall of Fame Inductees

This is the sixth year we're including the Hall of Fame as part of PR News’ Platinum PR Awards. For the Hall of Fame, PR News selects communications campaigns or initiatives that were launched at least three years ago and that we think will likely be referred to in years to come-after the campaigns have ended-as having been very original and having had a larger impact than even its creators might have imagined.

Anniversary

Winner: Sabanci Foundation

The Sabanci Foundation sought to activate its target group in its 40th year with the aim of developing the potential of society, carrying social awareness into future generations and creating a difference in people’s lives through innovative and permanent values.

The Sabanci Foundation’s 40th Anniversary press meeting included 32 members of the press from 27 different channels including news agencies, national newspapers, magazines, radios and television.

Annual Report

Winner: Yellowstone Park Foundation

Yellowstone National Park has captured the imagination of millions of people since it became the first national park in 1872. Its unusual beauty—geysers spewing faithfully, free-roaming wildlife ad one of the last nearly intact natural ecosystems found in the earth’s temperate zone—makes it one of the greatest scientific laboratories anywhere. The foundation wanted to tell the story of their work through compelling visual imagery and inspirational copy, in order to break the mold of the usual copy-heavy, boring annual report presentations that continue to proliferate in both corporate America and the nonprofit community.

In their annual report, the Yellowstone Park Foundation utilized more artwork/photographs and less copy to encourage a thorough read by Millennials and time-starved current and potential donors. They also used fascinating facts and meaningful pull quotes to increase readership. Their efforts resulted in a regional Addy Award, the report saw an increase of 20 percent in webpage views and there has been a 183 percent increase in donation dollars.

Branding

Winner: Henson Consulting

For the first time in its 76-year history, the International Housewares Association (IHA) sought to speak directly with consumers, in addition to its members, in an effort to proactively connect products to end users. IHA teamed up with Henson Consulting to establish the association as a resource that provides consumers with the information they need to make informed housewares purchases and build a consumer awareness campaign that creates a call to action to ultimately help increase sales for the industry.

The partners recognized that developing engaging online content would play an important role in the consumer path to purchase, and set out to create an online destination where consumers would be inspired by beautiful lifestyle imagery and engaging, useful content. The team began by determining the essence of the “Inspired Home” brand design, which they sought to make relatable to ensure the site’s content would resonate with the target consumers.

Through a dedicated media relations effort and digital content strategy, the partners successfully exceeded all program objectives. Through earned media outreach at the brand’s launch, Inspired Home reached millions of consumers with 81.8 million media impressions. After the first six months, the dedicated website reached more than 157,000 page views.

Blog

Winner: Transamerica

After an impressive year in 2014 for the Transamerica blog, in which the team was able to draw in 54,000 unique visits, the company knew it could do better in 2015. By implementing a redesign of the blog, executing a lead generation system, ramping up traffic drivers and adjusting the communications plan to compete with the likes of Charles Schwab and MetLife, the company was able to bump up their visits to more than 100,000 for the year.

The content team at Transamerica set out on a mission to get the same recognition for the blog as their high performing and industry leading social campaigns. The blog’s content looks to empower readers to improve their finances and make more sound financial decisions today and tomorrow. Across the more than 40 new articles posted to the blog, each individual piece of content averaged close to 1,000 views and 500 shares.

Honorable Mentions

Golin on behalf of NRG Energy – Making and Breaking News on NRG Power Perspectives

Cause-Related Marketing

Co-Winner: Edelman

Early last year, CVS Health made the momentous decision to stop selling tobacco products in CVS/pharmacy stores across the U.S., followed by a corporate name change from CVS Caremark to CVS Health. Every year, the company touches more than 100 million people by playing an active, supportive role in each person’s unique health experience and in the greater health care environment. In September 2014, the company and its integrated agency team used the removal of tobacco products one month ahead of schedule as the newsworthy hook to launch the corporate rebranding of CVS Health through a multifaceted digital, experiential, advertising and public relations campaign.

In keeping with the operations-led culture of CVS Health, Edelman’s plans showed each touch point with the media and stakeholders; clear next steps and expected outcomes. CVS Health’s Chief Medical Officer authored pieces on ending the sale of tobacco at retailers with pharmacies for respected health publications, broadening the story beyond the business pages to medical reporters focusing on the public health impact.

Edelman reached out to key, top-tier media with embargoed information and early interviews to ensure clear understanding of the story and a strong media response the morning of the announcements. The CVS Health announcement generated more than 347 million overall media impressions and the business decision was hailed as a powerful example and an important step towards public health by major political, health and business leaders, key third-party advocates and consumers alike. The announcement appeared in virtually every major daily newspaper, wire service, and cable network morning show and all three national evening newscasts.

Honorable Mentions

Aspen Dental Management Inc.- Healthy Mouth Movement

Current Marketing – The Glad #SAVEITSUNDAY Movement

Finn Partners – NO MORE. Together We Can End Domestic Violence & Sexual Assault

Cause-Related Marketing

Co-Winner: Nebo Agency

The Atlanta Beltline is a sustainable urban growth project that upon completion will encircle Atlanta with 33 miles of multi-use trails, transportation networks and public parks. It is one of the nation’s most eco-friendly construction efforts and was recognized by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency as such. Building the BeltLine is infusing the city with vitality and urbanism, but the offer comes at a cost of hundreds of millions of dollars. And although state and deferral funding will cover much of the cost, timely completion depends almost entirely on community support and contributions. Nebo Agency partnered with the BeltLine to launch a pro bono fund raising campaign with the goal of raising $35,000 towards BeltLine projects and programs.

The question was never a matter of whether Nebo could get local community support—they knew that the BeltLine had an ardent fan base of loyal advocates eager to show their pride. The challenge was finding a way to give their support the right meaning. Nebo and local blacksmith and artist Jason Smith worked with the BeltLine to secure parts of the original rail that ran along the planned transit route. Smith then hand cut the rail into 1,000 individual, time stamped and numbered slices. Each piece was one of a kind and beautifully designed, making it an ideal decorative artifact for any office or home and could be purchased for $99.

In just two weeks Nebo met its fundraising goal. In a single month, more than 700 pieces of rail were sold, as individuals as well as entire organizations contributed to the effort, with one company even reserving 100 slices. Not only were Atlantans eager to donate, they were also excited to help spread the message and show their civic pride. Through media outreach efforts, Nebo helped secure more than 90 earned media placements in less than two months, including live radio broadcasts, video and online coverage. Stories on news sites, blogs, social media, newspapers and broadcast programs generated more than 17 million impressions in less than two months. Local and national outlets encouraged audiences to contribute and support the BeltLine’s efforts to improve the city and its quality of life.

Honorable Mentions

Aspen Dental Management Inc.- Healthy Mouth Movement

Current Marketing – The Glad #SAVEITSUNDAY Movement

Finn Partners – NO MORE. Together We Can End Domestic Violence & Sexual Assault

Community Relations

Co-Winner: SWAY PR/CommongroundMGS

The Miami-Dade Expressway Authority (MDX) manages five expressways in Miami-Dade County, Florida that are critical to the movement of people and goods across South Florida. MDX is funded entirely by toll revenue, which is reinvested for the planning, design, construction, operation and maintenance of the five expressways. MDX strives to provide unique opportunities to give back to frequent users of the MDX system. To that end, the agency developed the MDX Advantage Program, the first toll system in the country to successfully launch a toll rebate program to help offset costs for Miami-Dade drivers who frequently use the five expressways managed by the MDX.

MDX tapped Sway PR to help generate awareness of the MDX Advantage Program and its benefits to frequent commuters, and reach the goal of registering 13,000 people over a four-month period. Sway organized a call center to provide assistance to the public on how to sign up for the program and address questions regarding available membership levels and respective benefits. The call center was available in both English and Spanish and worked to swiftly resolve any issues experienced by recent subscribers. The team also used social media components to increase awareness of the program on Facebook. Over the four month period, the partners were able to enroll more than 33,000 people into the MDX Advantage Program, through their generation of almost 100,000 impressions on social media.

Honorable Mentions

Bellmont Partners – CREATE: The Community Meal

Burson-Marsteller – Your Health Idaho: 2014 Open Enrollment

Canadian Tire Corporation/North Strategic – The Great Canadian Hoser

CareFirst BlueCross BlueShield – #IBackThe

Food Lion – Feeds

GE Lighting – GE Girls Cleveland

Goodwill Industries International – MyFreeTaxes

Inspira Marketing Group – Advil Relief in Action

Molina Healthcare – Personal Hygiene Kit Giveaway

Raytheon Company – Kicking Up Brand Awareness with Major League Soccer

Community Relations

Co-Winner: Lockheed Martin

The Lockheed Martin USA Science and Engineering Festival (USASEF) team planned and flawlessly executed the corporation’s key sponsorship of the world’s largest STEM event. Lockheed Martin served as the main attraction of the three-day biennial event, which attracted more than 325,000 attendees, brining hands-on activities and demonstrations to life to educate and inspire the next generation of scientist and engineers.

The brand used a single, cohesive theme that advanced the overall brand message. With the creation of the hashtag #scifestselfies, the team worked a contest to increase attendee engagement and participation and showcased woman and sports role models to encourage kids to look at STEM differently. The team secured three segments with ABC7 and News 8 and facilitated 14 interviews during the festival. The media published 255 articles mentioning Lockheed Martin’s participation at USASEF. The brand’s social channels resulted in more than 5,500 clicks and 323,423 impressions.

Honorable Mentions

Bellmont Partners – CREATE: The Community Meal

Burson-Marsteller – Your Health Idaho: 2014 Open Enrollment

Canadian Tire Corporation/North Strategic – The Great Canadian Hoser

CareFirst BlueCross BlueShield – #IBackThe

Food Lion – Feeds

GE Lighting – GE Girls Cleveland

Goodwill Industries International – MyFreeTaxes

Inspira Marketing Group – Advil Relief in Action

Molina Healthcare – Personal Hygiene Kit Giveaway

Raytheon Company – Kicking Up Brand Awareness with Major League Soccer

Community Relations

Co-Winner: Porter Novelli on behalf of Bayer CropScience

They may be small, but honeybees are critical to the growth of hundreds of the foods we enjoy everyday, including seasonal favorites like pumpkins and apples. However, the health of honeybees has been the subject of intense debate around the world. Despite the belief of the scientific community stating that there are many factors affecting bee health, the anti-pesticide community has mistakenly identified neonicotinoids, a class of pesticides, as the main cause behind struggling bee populations, despite the major research showing otherwise. Bayer CropScience, a maker of products designed to control pests around the foods we enjoy, has been at the heart of this difficult conversation. Last year, Bayer engaged Porter Novelli to lead the North American Bee Care Program in its third year in an effort to generate awareness and combat the distribution of misinformation.

The partners began with primary research by listening to more than 8,000 consumers nationwide to establish an awareness benchmark of bee health. They found that most people had little information about the topic, yet thought pesticides were the main cause of honeybee health decline. Even though globally, the number of bee colonies has increased by 45 percent over the past 50 years and the identification of the Varroa mite as a significant danger to bee populations, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

With the stakeholders and influencers spread out from coast to coast, the partners developed the mobile tour exhibit to bring their message directly to stakeholders. The Bee Care Tour CSR program became a huge success across the U.S. and Canada, exceeding program objectives and building on Bayer’s longstanding commitment to bee health and sustainability. The partners were able to garner 8.8 million impressions from 42 media inter views, a 149 percent increase in press release pick-up from the previous year and 700,000 social media impressions. The tour was a living example of Bayer’s commitment to build collaboration among its various stakeholders across the nation.

Honorable Mentions

Bellmont Partners – CREATE: The Community Meal

Burson-Marsteller – Your Health Idaho: 2014 Open Enrollment

Canadian Tire Corporation/North Strategic – The Great Canadian Hoser

CareFirst BlueCross BlueShield – #IBackThe

Food Lion – Feeds

GE Lighting – GE Girls Cleveland

Goodwill Industries International – MyFreeTaxes

Inspira Marketing Group – Advil Relief in Action

Molina Healthcare – Personal Hygiene Kit Giveaway

Raytheon Company – Kicking Up Brand Awareness with Major League Soccer

Crisis Management

Winner: LDWWgroup

Click to enlarge Carnival Corporation: Orchestrating the Comeback of the World's Leading Cruise Company

A series of high-profile incidents in 2012 and 2013—including the sinking of the Costa Concordia that killed 32 passengers and the infamous Carnival “poop cruise”—shook customer confidence in Carnival Corporation and its 10 cruise brands. Bookings dropped, revenue sagged and corporate reputation suffered: brand perception dropped by 50 points to its lowest status of all time. Hindering a recovery effort was the organizations autonomous structure—brands operated independently and did not collaborate, cooperate or communicate. Carnival Corporation didn’t even have a corporate communications function. In the midst of the turmoil, Carnival Corporation’s CEO stepped down and was replaced by board member Arnold Donald.

To implement the strategic communications vision, the communications team worked closely with new CEO Donald, who launched a program across the company’s 10 brands calling for collaboration, cooperation and communication. Donald’s goal was to generate significant cost-savings and new revenue sources, to improve quality and consistently exceed guest expectations. From there the communications team instituted a storytelling model for good news stories not previously told by the company and carefully cultivated relationships with the 30 global media outlets identified as “most influential” to fill the pipeline with good news that could influence other media stories.

They also developed a new corporate website to serve as a central hub for advanced storytelling and engagement. By mid-last year the brand reputation was up by a total over more than 85 percent. This was in large part due to more than 50 news stories about the new CEO reaching 135 million people, environmental stories and features being placed in outlets like The New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Associated Press, Washington Post, HuffingtonPOst.com, USA Today and CNBC.

Employee Relations

Winner: Johnson & Johnson

When Johnson & Johnson became the first official healthcare sponsor of the FIFA World Cup, it recognized a unique and unprecedented opportunity to leverage this global platform to build upon its caring legacy and inspire a more caring world. The company introduced the “CARE INSPIRES CARE” campaign, which was based on the idea that a single act of care has the power to inspire a more caring world. Johnson & Johnson engaged Edelman to bring this platform to life for the company’s more than 128,000 global employees.

The company introduced Global Care Month, the first-ever volunteer month that tied together existing initiatives and provided additional opportunities for employees to participate in caring activates. To tie in to its sponsorship of the FIFA World Cup, the company also created the Champions of Care campaign to support Global Care Month, where employees would be recognized for their exemplary volunteerism by rewarding them with a trip to Brazil to volunteer alongside one another and attend the FIFA World Cup. Global Care Month inspired more than 20,000 employees in 31 countries to volunteer to help better their communities and the Champions of Care initiative drew over 200 applications from employees and increased pride within the employee population, showing that the company not only has a credo, but also lives it.

Event Marketing

Winner: R.I.M. Porter Novelli

Coca-Cola is the oldest commercial partner of the international Olympic movement: it’s been a sponsor since 1928 and it’s been involved in the Olympic torch relay since 1992. In the run-up to the Games in Russia, its organizer and sponsors faced a huge communications challenge: overcoming the negative attitude of the Russian people towards the Games. Many considered them a waste of money and effort, even those who held a more positive stance towards the Games doubted they would be able to attend Olympic events. Organizers defined the most important role of the iconic torch relay in Russia as creating excitement for the Olympics and national pride in the host nation. For Coca-Cola, it was also important that Russian consumers felt really involved in and positive about the Games.

As relay partner, Coca-Cola had the chance to independently choose more than 2,000 of the 14,000 torchbearers for the ambitious 123-day, 65,000 km Olympic torch relay. To grant every Russian a chance to bear the Olympic flame, the company launched an all-Russia contest for the selection of Coca-Cola’s relay participants. Applications were sought from anyone over 14 who had changed the lives of the people around them and pursued a healthy and active lifestyle. The company’s competition drew more than 65,000 applications and received 14 million votes from all across Russia. The communications campaign led to around 50 percent more coverage than expected, with 3,000 media reports containing key company messages and brand references.

Honorable Mentions

ANTHEMIC Agency – FLOODfest @ SXSW

APCO Worldwide – France at the 2015 International Consumer Electronics Show

External Publication (print or online)

Winner: Homewood Suites by Hilton

While Homewood Suites by Hilton has the performance track record and awards to make a strong case about why developers should build an extended stay hotel, sometimes people don’t want o listen to a braggart. To demonstrate the brand’s position as a leader and visionary, Homewood Suites sought to partner with a trusted third-party research organization to showcase the strength and clause proposition of the extended stay segment. As a complementary strategy, the research could then be leveraged with targeted media outlets as a platform and fodder to secure feature coverage.

Based on these criteria, Homewood Suites selected to partner with Skift, the largest industry intelligence-marketing platform in travel. Homewood Suites created a multi-pronged tactical communications plan that would drive desired messages backed by research. The partners co-authored a white paper on the future of the extended stay segment. They created a corresponding infographic to further tell the story visually. A corresponding microsite was developed that featured an executive summary, infographic and a lead generation data collection tool tied to the white paper download. A total of more than 1,000 new business leads were generated for the hotel development team. USA Today ran a feature about the segment and the white paper on the front page of their business section. In addition, eight media appointments were secured with outlets such as Hotel Management, Globe St. and Lodging.

Facebook Campaign

Winner: PEDIGREE Brand + Weber Shandwick

Since committing to the cause of shelter dogs in 2008, the PEDIGREE brand has donated more than 20 million pounds of food. Through their efforts, the brand has seen first-hand the impact of a consistent diet of good food can have on helter dogs—making their cots shiny, tails wagging. Public relations amplified the advertising creative to extend reach and drive awareness and support of the brand’s mission. Together, PEDIGREE and consumers across the country would see the impact that god food can make in the life of a shelter dog—and start a movement to share these important stories. They created a multi-platform PR and social media campaign to optimize the “see what god food can do” campaign hat encompassed multiple pulses to sustain momentum throughout the year.

The campaign encouraged dog lover everywhere to see the difference good food can make in the life of a shelter dog. Building on the brand’s heritage and historical support of the cause, the partners tapped into its faithful and passionate consumers and create new supporters too. Extending the storytelling theme of the new campaign narrative, the partners wanted to give dog lovers a platform to share their stories and ultimately raise funds and awareness for a shared passion helping shelter dogs in need. The campaign earned almost 550 million earned media impressions, making it the most effective earned media campaign for the company. More than 55 national interviews were conducted with the likes of Access Hollywood, SportsCenter, EXTRA, Rolling Stone, Billboard and Fox Latino.

Financial/Investor Relations

Winner: Ruder Finn and Novartis

After months of strategic business reviews, Novartis embarked on a massive portfolio transformation to dramatically reshape the focus of the company on its three leading businesses with innovation power and global scale: pharmaceuticals, eye care and generics. For years, Novartis had been known for providing innovative healthcare solutions to patients around the world, employing focused diversification with a broad-based portfolio to achieve this goal. Through the deals with GSK and Eli Lilly, Novartis would develop a leaner, more focused business model.

After ten days of around the clock research and preparation, the team executed the announcement with precision. Following the communications timeline to a tee, they coordinated briefings and run-throughs with the IR team the day prior to the announcement to ensure everyone was prepared to disseminate the news over a variety of channels. Their efforts resulted in more than 150 unique articles, more than 40 percent of which were in top-tier business publications including Bloomberg and the Wall Street Journal.

Global PR Campaign

Winner: Unilever with Weber Shandwick

There are around one billion Google searches relating to hair care every month, but the hair care sector was missing a trick: no brand had invested in YouTube tutorials to help women with their hair. Unilever grabbed the opportunity and brought all its hair care brands together for the first time to create All Things Hair. The company had never run a global digital program and never brought its hair care brands together in one marketing campaign, but Unilever put a bold plan in place to create a credible YouTube channel with relevant hair care content and tips for consumers.

Unilever’s pioneering campaign paid off: it now unequivocally owns hair care content on YouTube. The “All Things Hair” channel became the 4th biggest of all hair and beauty brand channels on the platform and the most liked channel globally after celebrity channels with more than 85 million total views and 400,000 subscribers since the effort was launched.

Green PR

Winner: Golin on behalf of NRG Energy & David Crane

Instead of setting the course for an energy landscape that is capable of keeping up with future demand responsibly, the energy sector—the backbone of the country’s economy—is largely driven by companies with short sighted leaders more concerned with maintaining the status quo of success than charting the course for the country’s energy future. Stepping away from the pack of competing industry players clinging to the status quo, NRG Energy, under the leadership of CEO David Crane, is the quite giant strategically poised to empower a transformation.

Every millstone that has changed the way we live was driven by a voice championing the cause. Until now, the voice of the energy revolution has been muffled, due to the industry’s inaction and political polarization. That’s why NRG Energy developed a comprehensive strategy to propel NRG as a recognized, progressive energy leader with David Crane at the helm that focused on bold moves, big bets and taking action towards a cleaner energy frontier. As part of the partners’ efforts, NRG saw priority messaging in 524 media placements, which resulted in 2.2 billion media impressions. CEO David Crane also ranked number four on Fortune’s list of Top World Eco-Innovators, while TheStreet.com declared him the “Elon Musk of Energy.”

Honorable Mentions

Bacardi Limited – Good Spirited: Building a Sustainable Future

Honeywell Hometown Solutions – 2014 Green Boot Camp

Solar Energy Industries Association – Shout Out For Solar 2015

VKLarsonCommunication – Renewable is Doable: a model for sustainability in SouthWest Germany

Hall of Fame

Winner: Hall of Fame

In many ways the “got milk” campaign, which aired its first ad for MilkPEP in 1995, represents the Holy Grail for a communications effort. The iconic slogan and corresponding milk mustache has stood for nearly 20 years and enjoyed more than 90 percent awareness in the United States. Donned by celebrities, athletes and everyday people alike, the National Milk Processor Education Program’s (MilkPEP) signature mustache truly broke down borders for the organization and earned a place in American culture that won’t soon be forgotten.

After a successful run with the “got milk?” campaign, MilkPEP decided to change the focus of its milk campaign to remind consumers of the nutritional benefits of the beverage. It shifted the messaging of the campaign to reflect its new tagline: “milk life.” With cultural trends moving to focus on health and well being, MilkPEP saw a perfect opportunity to continue its efforts by linking up its naturally protein-rich product with the recent national trends of fitness and health.

Along with a powerful athlete-focused chocolate milk campaign – BUILT WITH CHOCOLATE MILK – the milk industry also recently kicked off the Great American Milk Drive, where the nation’s milk companies and dairy farmers partnered with Feeding America to help put highly desired gallons of nutrient-rich milk on the table of kids and their families who need it most. While milk is one of the top nutritious items requested by food bank clients, it’s rarely donated. MilkPEP has delivered 6 million servings of milk to a network of 200 food banks and 60,000 food pantries and meal programs nationwide.

Prudential Financial – Prudential Newsroom

The success of the Prudential Newsroom lies in its intuitive design. The company’s news hub satisfies the needs and curiosity of journalists and consumers by giving unfettered access to media contacts, research and news related to the company in one central location. The company set an example for brands that take seriously the notion that we are all publishers now.

The newsroom not only highlights news from the company, but also journalists can find other stories with mentions of Prudential or quotes from executives that can serve as useful background and shows what is already being said about the company. Having everything in one place isn’t just in the best interest of Prudential’s relationships with journalists; it stands as a point of reference for bloggers, social media users, employees and the general public.

In creating the newsroom, Prudential reviewed numerous studies to get an understanding of what journalists want to see when they look for information about a company, and then they tested their work by asking a target audience of journalists if the company had created a site that worked. By determining how the brand was attracting followers—internal versus external, social versus owned content—the company was able to tailor their messages and content to focus on the audiences they set out to serve with their newsroom. By promoting feature stories and thought leadership pieces the company was able to see higher engagement and increase the numbers of visitors to its online newsroom since its inception almost a decade ago.

Truth Initiative – truth®

Truth Initiative, formerly known as the American Legacy Foundation, is the nonprofit public health organization behind one of the most iconic and impactful campaigns of the last 15 years. Since its first ad ran back in 2000, the Truth campaign has changed the way generations of teens and young adults think about tobacco.

Since the beginning Truth has created visually striking television ad campaigns. But the ads are by no means the only way the nonprofit has brought its message to teens. It has also launched nationwide efforts to connect with young adults through live experiences such as music tours and other popular culture events across the country. They’ve also consistently been early adopters of emerging digital channels.

With the advent of a new “born online” generation, in 2014 Truth shifted their tactics to appeal to this new group of teens. The “Finish It” campaign is a way of motivating and empowering this new generation to use their creativity and social influence to be the generation to end smoking once and for all. In addition to bold adverting and grassroots outreach, Truth also takes its efforts to social media with a comprehensive approach. For the “Finish It” launch, the campaign urged teens to stop being unpaid spokespersons for Big Tobacco companies by removing smoking photos from the Internet. To do this, teens could remove or cover the images with web-stickers from the campaign website. Since then, they have leveraged social media influencers and Internet memes as a way of infusing their message into pop-culture conversations.

At the center of its strategy, the campaign allows teens and young adults to make their own decisions about tobacco. Rather than take a “just say no” approach or telling young people what to do, the Truth campaign simply offers information presented in an eye-catching way. By exposing little-known truths about Big Tobacco companies and their manipulative tactics they allow teens to make informed choices on their own. And by standing as an ally and equal to youth, Truth has played a large role in reducing teen tobacco use to just 8 percent.

USA Network – Characters Unite

USA Network’s public service program has grown into a multiplatform effort to combat discrimination and promote tolerance in an effort to address the social injustices and cultural divides still prevalent in our society. Standing at the forefront of issues like discrimination, civil rights, veterans’ affairs and domestic violence, USA Network’s Characters Unite has used a variety of tactics to bring about positive real-world change.

The campaign looks to see beyond stereotypes and appreciate each other for the character that we are. The effort features a website as its centerpiece that encourages Americans, despite their individual differences, to pledge for unity and mutual respect and features a movement-building gallery of images tied directly to Facebook.

USA Network has also partnered with amazing organizations that work every day to help bring down the wall that divide us. The campaign not only works to support these organizations, but also partners with them in showcasing their work and developing initiatives alongside the Characters Unite campaign. Some of these partners include the American Federation of Teachers, the Anti-Defamation League, GLAAD, Human Right Campaign and No More.

Honorable Mentions

Influencer Communications

Co-Winner: Cohn & Wolfe

Car culture in America is at a crossroads. The “do-it-yourself” spirit once handed down from generation to generation ahs lost favor to the convenience of express service shops. Valvoline, an industry leader in motor oil, was struggling to find its place in an increasingly cluttered market. Tasked with differentiating the brand from competitors, Cohn & Wolfe generated an all-encompassing media influencer program with several key touch points over the course of the year.

The partners sought to identify a core set of influencers across DIY, motorsports and lifestyle outlets and introduce them to Valvoline’s history of hands-on expertise and product development. They also wanted to demonstrate the company’s commitment to continued innovation and reinvention while celebrating American car culture and the hands-on expertise exhibited by influencers and their audiences. The influencer program and resulting coverage served as a driver for the majority of the brand’s exposure last year, including in-depth features in Truckin’, Cars & Parts, Complex.com and Hooniverse, totaling more than 65 print and online placements and 90 million earned media impressions.

Influencer Communications

Co-Winner: Marina Maher Communications and Crowdtap Inc.

Click to enlarge U by Kotex Taps into a Universal Female Truth, Connects with Young Women Everywhere and Saves the Undies

Through a socially integrated program that showed how solving the problem of failed period care could help keep underwear safe from leaks, U by Kotex proved to young women that it’s not only a brand that “gets them,” but that it “gets what matters to them,” maintaining its core consumer and reaching a broader target. Armed with research showing a lack of trust in the feminine care industry, the brand’s mission was clear. Rather than play to their target’s fear of leaks, U by Kotex would be the brand that protects the element in a wardrobe that mattered most during a period—underwear.

The partners unleashed the U by Kotex UnderWarriors to advocate through engaging programs designed to encourage friends, fans and followers to help “Save the Undies” and learn more about the new U by Kotex pad. These included a consumer event in New York City, a fun and interactive microsite and a series of activations that extended the life of the story and generated millions of social impressions. As a result of the program, trust in the brand rose 21 percent and sales increased almost as much.

Internal Publication (print or online)

Winner: Bechtel

Communicating with employees in a timely and forthright way is a fundamental Bechtel value. Throughout its 117-year history, internal publications have played an important role in strengthening connections among the company’s people—many of them assigned to construction projects in remote locations around the world. The company consolidated numerous diverse newsletters into the Bechtel Globe, a corporate-wide tabloid that combined the stunning photography afforded by massive infrastructure and energy project with the stories of how those projects were convinced and built. For employees long accustomed to working in the relative isolation of a project-based business, the Globe was an overdue and welcome tool for building community. For nearly 20 years, the Globe’s objectives have remained constant and employee response to the Globe has remained positive.

Still, the logistics of print distribution were a continuous challenge. Some projects were so remote—oil and gas fields off Russia’s east coast, a smelter on an Icelandic fjord, a mine 10 hours up in the Peruvian Andes—that the Globe was regrettably available via weekly mail pouches, if at all. Once high-speed Internet became compulsory on even the most remote projects, the Globe’s transition to an all-electronic format became overwhelmingly appealing. Since the digital launch, interactive sessions have increased by 1880 percent and downloads of the mobile app have jumped up 257 percent.

Large PR Firm of the Year

Winner: Cohn & Wolfe

Cohn & Wolfe’s mission is to Create, Build and Protect brands. Its evolved, integrated marketing offer gives it a distinct advantage in today’s marketplace, where an understanding of what inspires consumers’ passion for brands and what drives them to take action is paramount. It all comes down to its brand-marketing heritage. The company’s approach is fueled by a creative culture built from the inside out, ensuring that its ideas are informed, inspired and, more importantly, effective.

The Cohn & Wolfe brand has firmly differentiated itself in the industry through a distinct web presence, advertising, media coverage and active social media channels. Since January 2014, the company has seen a 196 percent increase in Twitter followers, boosted YouTube channel views by 72 percent and reached over 3.3 million Facebook impressions. In its online series, “In the Den,” the company interviewed some of the biggest influencers of our time. Guests have included Mashable Founder Pete Cashmore, The Talking Heads’ Chris Frantz and Peter Shankman, founder and CEO of HARO.

Honorable Mentions

Ruder Finn

Weber Shandwick

Marketing Communications

Winner: U.S. Highbush Blueberry Council

American consumers know they need to make healthier food choices, but they keep tripping up when it comes to sticking with those decisions. Knowing that Americans define healthy eating in terms of adding or removing items from their diets, PadillaCRT and the U.S. Highbush Blueberry Council (USHBC) set out to bridge the awareness-to-action gap and grow blueberry consumption by reminding consumers that little changes can set the stage for big health rewards. The Little Changes campaign led to nationwide sharing of healthy living inspiration, remarkable numbers of social engagements, year-round national media attention and a 30 percent increase in purchase intent among U.S. families polled after the program.

With Alison Sweeney, host of Biggest Loser, as spokesperson, the partners sharpened their message and positioned blueberries a little change with big benefits in TV segments and stories with The Ellen Show, Access Hollywood, Daily mail, Woman’s Day and Huffington Post. In the Fall they partnered with the Latina Mom Bloggers Network to engage a niche group of target customers in a discussion about little changes for a healthier back-to-school season. The lively Twitter party generated more than 6,000 tweets alone, reaching 1.3 million consumers.

Media Event

Winner: WWE

WWE kicked off WrestleMania Week with a media event at the historic Fairmont Hotel in San Francisco and a PR stunt throughout the city. On March 27, two days before WrestleMania, media gathered at the hotel to gain access to WWE talent and executives. More than 100 U.S. and international media attended and had the opportunity to see talent arrive in a WrestleMania branded cable car, take pictures on top of the Fairmont balcony adorned with WrestleMania flags and speak one-on-one with Stephanie McMahon, John Cena, Hulk Hogan, Daniel Bryan and the Bella Twins. After the media event, WWE Superstars and Divas rode in the branded cable car throughout San Francisco landmarks with local news crews who were invited onto the cable car to capture the event.

More than 400 interviews were conducted throughout WrestleMania 31 with the likes of Conan, Jimmy Kimmel Live!, The Today Show, ESPS’s SportsCenter E! News and Fox Sports. WWE’s pop-culture extravaganza was watched by more than 1.6 million global households on WWE Network and pay-per-view, making it the most-watched WrestleMania in history.

Media Relations

Winner: PMK∙BNC and Step 3 for Activision Publishing Inc.

In 2011, Activision Publishing, Inc. and Toys for Bob development studio transformed the videogame and toy industries with the release of its innovative Skylanders Spyro’s Adventure. By 2013, Skylanders led the industry and had realized more than $2 billion in revenue in the first two years at retail. The industry landscape changed later that year as several competitors entered the market. Because of this, Skylanders vied for both media and consumer mindshare and the franchise needed to keep the brand top-of-mind throughout the yearlong campaign of its news game, Skylanders Trap Team.

The partners looked to affirm the title’s ongoing innovation leadership and underscore family-friendly appeal to drive coverage, awareness and purchase intent while maintain the top videogame and toy spot. They also wanted to drive yearlong awareness of the campaign that championed Skylanders as above and beyond other individual game titles. The PR team secured more than 5 billion media impressions for the game throughout the campaign, keeping the game top-of-mind in the space from its reveal to its release. The team successfully inserted the game whenever competitors were covered and aligned with suitable, mediagenic talent to elevate the brand.

Midsize PR Firm of the Year

Winner: Finn Partners

Finn Partners was launched in late 2011 to realize Peter Finn’s vision to create a leading communications agency dedicated to shaping a bold new future in which innovation and partnership are strong drivers of the brand. In little more than three full years, Finn Partners has grown to become one of the fastest growing independent PR firm in the world. Whether it’s cutting edge work, collaborative culture or growth that is fueled organically and through acquisitions of like-minded firms, the company’s goal is to build an agency that delivers amazing result to its clients.

Since its founding in late 2011, Finn partners has become one of the largest independent PR agencies in the world. Today, it has 450 professionals with deep expertise in consumer, technology, travel, education, global affairs, arts/culture, health, professional services and CSR. Headquartered in New York City, it has regional offices in Chicago, Detroit, Fort Lauderdale, Jerusalem, London, Los Angeles, Munich, Nashville, Paris, San Francisco and Washington D.C.

Honorable Mentions

Eastwick

ICR Inc.

Makovsky & Company Inc.

Peppercomm

PMK•BNC

Racepoint Global

TogoRun – Unleash the power of health and well-being

Multicultural Campaign

Co-Winner: Amway Corporation

The Nutrilite Power of 5 Campaign was a global program created by Amway to fight childhood malnutrition. According to the World Health Organization, more than 3 million children die annually due to malnutrition and related causes. While this is a complicated problem, it impacts most countries, regardless of income level. As a leader in nutrition, Amway was in an ideal position to help. When mixed with food once daily, Nutrilite Little Bits can help children’s brains and bodies develop properly so they can survive, thrive and achieve their potential.

As a result of the campaign, Little Bits have expanded distribution from two countries to nine over the last year. To day, more than 5,000 children and their families are benefiting from these efforts. Stories and a release form the Malnutrition Expert Roundtable were picked up by 302 media outlets and garnered more than 500,000 Twitter impressions.

Multicultural Campaign

Co-Winner: Hilton Worldwide with Ketchum

The LGBT community’s journey towards equal rights has been long and arduous throughout the United States. When a major milestone was passed—the rejection of California’s Proposition 8 by the U.S. Supreme Court opening the door to gay marriage in the state—it was time for a celebration. Hilton led the way, not as an opportunist latecomer to the party, but as a continuing authentic partner and trusted sponsor.

Hilton had previously launched “Stay Hilton. Go Out.” as its first LGBT marketing effort marked by high-profile LGBT organization partnerships, property promotion and authentic conversations and storytelling. With competitors brazenly deciding to follow Hilton’s lead, the company raised the bar on storytelling with the “Out Stage. Your Story.” Program to create LGBT stories everyone could celebrate. The team’s efforts earned them 642 media impressions in key outlets like The New York Times, Yahoo! News, Reuters and Chicago Tribune.

On a Shoestring Campaign

Co-Winner: Konnect Public Relations

No one can argue that babies increase the cute factor of just about anything. Who can resist a baby in adorable little sunglasses? Hence the reason that the niche market of baby eyewear is actually quite crowded. Babiators, a line of aviator-style sunglasses for babies and children, faces fierce competition. It can be tough for a new player to gain awareness and market share.

Konnect PR sought to highlight both the functionality and novelty aspects of the product, targeting national baby & children-focused media as well as top general consumer media outlets. In addition to traditional media efforts, the team focused on discounts, giveaways, celebrity seeding and social media. Just two placements alone generated enough revenue to fund more than half of the yearlong campaign. Babiators had 150 press placements with more than 177 million impressions and was listed as #78 on Forbes’ America’s Most Promising Companies.

Honorable Mentions

American Lung Association and Medtronic – A Lung Cancer Survivor Story

Camino Public Relations – #Tweet4Condoms

FedEx – #PurpleHats for the Holidays

Fineman PR – Military Dogs Come Home and Take the Hill

IW Group – Pearl River Mart PR Campaign

Krupp Kommunications – #HappyActs Challenge by Live Happy Magazine

National Organization for Women, Scott Circle and William Klein & Associates – NOW’s Campaign to Stop the Culture of Domestic Violence in the NFL

Ogilvy Public Relations – UN Women He for She

Porter Novelli – National Almond Day Snack Swaps

On a Shoestring Campaign

Co-Winner: Nebo Agency

Choose ATL is a community-driven initiative to brand Atlanta as a digital hub for young, creative and driven professionals. The campaign showcases the city as an ideal setting for personal growth, entrepreneurship and a high quality of life that is unmatched by other large metropolitan areas. Not only is Atlanta the 15th largest economy in the world, the city is poised to have nearly 500,000 tech jobs by 2018, making it one of the most entrepreneur-friendly economies in the nation.

The campaign was a grassroots effort, relying on word-of-mouth and community support to spread the word. Nebo’s targeted local outreach strategy would leverage city pride and encourage residents to take ownership of the initiative. Nebo would invite all Atlantans to become an active part of Choose ATL—building a strong local network and gathering momentum for largest regional and national efforts. In three month, with no budget Nebo achieved more than 30 million impressions from earned media coverage, 200 media placements and 10,000 views of the campaign video.

Honorable Mentions

American Lung Association and Medtronic – A Lung Cancer Survivor Story

Camino Public Relations – #Tweet4Condoms

FedEx – #PurpleHats for the Holidays

Fineman PR – Military Dogs Come Home and Take the Hill

IW Group – Pearl River Mart PR Campaign

Krupp Kommunications – #HappyActs Challenge by Live Happy Magazine

National Organization for Women, Scott Circle and William Klein & Associates – NOW’s Campaign to Stop the Culture of Domestic Violence in the NFL

Ogilvy Public Relations – UN Women He for She

Porter Novelli – National Almond Day Snack Swaps

Online Communications

Many consumers are largely unaware of where their food comes from beyond the grocery store and are often influenced by untruths in the media, particularly social media, about genetically modified foods. At the same time, 1 in 6 people in the U.S. struggle with hunger. Bayer partnered with Porter Novelli and Mastermind Involvement Marketing to develop a program to engage consumers in a discussion about how farmers and people in the agriculture industry contribute to feeding out nation and the world.

Bayer and its partners developed a plan that sought to engage non-agriculture audiences in a dialogue about the role modern agriculture serves in feeding the global population, increase the number of social partnerships with key stakeholder groups and raise awareness of Bayer’s leadership and commitment to leaving a better world. On the day of the campaign’s launch, Bayer conducted 10 media interviews, which resulted in more than 1 million impressions. Twitter impressions rose to 193,000 and scored 17,88 engagements on the same day.

Online Press Room/Media Center

Winner: The MasterCard Engagement Bureau

The explosion of social media and mobile device use over the past few years has transformed the way people consume news and share information, opening up an unprecedented opportunity for brands to become publishers. As a brand publisher, MasterCard’s goal was simple. Lead a conversation that allows the company to inform, engage and demonstrate the value that MasterCard is bringing to the media, bloggers and stakeholders without simply shouting messages from a soapbox.

At the forefront of this digital age, MasterCard’s global digital communications team saw a need for content curation and creation. The first challenge was creating authentic, curated communications that were more diverse than simple news releases, aligned around five man brand pillars and consistent with MasterCard’s brand and corporate mission. MasterCard needed an approach to creating topic-driven content that would be interesting and relevant to its many different audiences. The newsroom and blog saw 77 percent year over year growth in average monthly visits with a 125 percent increase in time spent on the site.

Honorable Mentions

Cherokee Nation Businesses – Anadisgoi.com

Cisco Systems – The Network

Edelman – Reimagining Brand Storytelling: The Starbucks Newsroom

Golin on behalf of NRG Energy – Making and Breaking News on NRG Power Perspectives

Podcast and/or Videocast

Winner: Edelman

As with many brands in the natural and organic food category, Bear Naked Granola had impressive sales growth in recent years, but its market leadership soon slipped and overall brand awareness was low. Consumers simply didn’t have enough information to drive purchases. To break through, Bear Naked needed to tell an epic, compelling and authentic story. Packed with pure ingredients, the brand zeroed in on Millennials who are highly active and view food as fuel.

As a sponsor of two Olympic athletes, Bear Naked was given an optimal storytelling opportunity during the snow-filled season to engage its Millennial audience and spotlight how its granola fueled winter adventures. The content execution play combined with traditional PR tactics generated overwhelming success, driving awareness and sales of Bear Naked granola. Campaign press releases positioned Bear Naked as a source to fuel epic winter adventures, engaging consumers and media around the 2014 Winter Olympic sponsorship and the #OneUpIt campaign.

Honorable Mentions

Transamerica – ClearPath – Your Roadmap to Health & Wealth

Vanda Pharmaceuticals Inc. – Non-24 Share More

Press Release

Winner: Southwest Airlines

Southwest Airlines’ looked to garner positive news coverage for Southwest in a wide array of traditional and non-traditional media outlets highlighting the company’s dedication to hospitality, reliability and low fares. They also looked to create a virtual experience for customers to view a new seat design through compelling photos and 3D animation provided in the news release.

There were almost 700 news media mentions of the company’s new easts. Of those, about 200 were a result of the press release placements through distribution services. An Associated Press story that derided airline seating happened to run the day after the brand’s announcement and made mention of the new seats as a counterpoint to overly cramped airline seats. Most of the news stories were neutral to positive.

Honorable Mentions

Marina Maher Communications – Drop Your Pants for Underwareness

GROHE Turkey – Water Usage Survey

Pro Bono Campaign

Winner: North of Nine Communications

Arguably one of the greatest challenges facing the business community today is the increasing dearth of female and minority technology engineers. The demand for expertise in this field is growing so rapidly that universities and colleges are unable to keep up with demand. It has been called the Rosie the Riveter moment of the 21st century. So troubling is this trend that Staci Harman set out to explore the issue in a feature-length documentary film, “CODE: Debugging the Gender Gap.” North of Nine Communications volunteered its time and expertise to help raise awareness of this important issue. It led the documentary’s communications efforts, crafting and executing a high-impact media relations strategy that unfolded to the world premiere at the Tribeca Film Festival.

Within one day of the premiere, press hailed CODE as one of the films sweeping the festival. All but one screening sold out and piece after piece of impactful print and broadcast coverage appeared throughout the weeklong festival, ranging from Fox Business, TODAY.com, CNN, Bloomberg, Glamour, Cosmopolitan and Fortune. As a result of North of Nine’s strategic communications support, CODE has been at the forefront of a national conversation about one of the business community most pressing challenges.

Honorable Mentions

ASU Cronkite PR Lab – Discover Global Markets

Nebo Agency – Choose ATL

Winger Marketing – Anixter Center

Product Launch

Co-Winner: Discovery Education

Discovery Education, the leading provider of digital content and professional development for K-12 classrooms nationwide, officially launched it comprehensive Math Techbook earlier this year. Math Techbook is a dynamic digital textbook designed to promote lasting student proficiency in math. As the latest addition to the company’s award-winning line of digital textbooks, it transforms the way students and teachers experience math through engaging instructional strategies and real-world problems that motivate and excite students with diverse learning styles.

To raise awareness of the product, the official launch event and Discovery Education’s leadership in education and digital learning, the communications team developed a compressive strategy to reach national consumer and education trade outlets with the purpose of securing positive press coverage and awareness of the Discovery Education Math Techbook. The launch of the Math Techbook has garnered coverage in more than 230 outlets, ranging from consumer publications to education trades, generating more than 105 million impressions. Dis

Product Launch

Co-Winner: RF Binder

As Dunkin Donuts continued its westward expansion in 2014, the brand made one of its boldest additions ever to its coffee lineup, introducing Rainforest Alliance Certified ark Roast Coffee. The brand turned to RF Binder to collaborate on a multi-faceted campaign to shine the spotlight on the new coffee and its significant to the company’s growth, success and differentiation in an increasingly competitive industry. The partners aimed to create a campaign as bold as the brand’s new blend, a campaign developed specifically to stand out from its competitors.

Consumer and customer feedback regarding Rainforest Alliance Certified Dark Roast coffee was extreamly positive, with strong sales for the launch and in the months following. The Dark Roast campaign was one of the most successful in the brand’s recent history. Coverage appeared in USA Today, New Yrok Times, CNN, Time, NBC Today, Good Morning America and Hyuffington Post. The Dark Roast launch also coincided with the brand’s single biggest one-month increase in Twitter followers, bringing in more than 48,000 new followers.

PSA

Winner: W2O Group

Flu+You is a national public education initiative sponsored by the National Council on Aging in collaboration with Sanofi Pasteur that educates adults 65 and older about the seriousness of the flue, the importance of prevention and available vaccine options. The Centers for Disease Control an Prevention reported that during the 2012-2013 flu season vaccinations helped prevent as many as 44,500 hospitalizations in those age 65 or older. However, there is still a greater need for awareness among this audience about the impact of the flu and the fact that it can make existing health problems worse and is especially dangerous for people with chronic conditions.

Through this integrated program, the Flu+You campaign has reached more than 185 million people since its launch and accomplished all objectives and increased awareness about the importance of flue vaccination in older adults. The team secured six national media placements, 38 local placements and 26 television segments totaling 29 million impressions.

Honorable Mentions

Coyne PR – Stepping Up and Stepping Out

The Doctors – The Real Deflate Gate

Nat Geo WILD – Big Cat Week PSA with Ellen Degeneres

National Geographic Channel – “Eat: The Story of Food” PSA with First Lady Michelle Obama

Research & Measurement

Winner: MSLGROUP

Always an issue, spoilers took on increased significance once Netflix stated releasing all episodes of a series at once. People watching at different times meant passionate discussions often spoiled other watching at a different pace. Spoilers became a disruptive truth about modern television viewing. Netflix tapped cultural anthropologist Grant McCracken to interview consumers and discovered a big insight: while viewers could claim to be upset about “being spoiled,” they actually regarded spoilers as acceptable. He even found distinct “spoiler personality types.” Netflix had the hook. The company launched a holistic campaign taking a provocative stance: it’s OK to spoil.

As a result of the campaign, Netflix triggered a dramatic spike in peope talking about spoilers in social media during the first 10 days of the campaign and people spoiled themselves 9 million times in the first week. The campaign’s website saw 1 million visitors in the first 24 hours and people averaged 6 minutes on the site. The efforts totaled nearly 1 billion earned impressions from 178 unique stories with 95 percent positive coverage.

Honorable Mentions

Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate – Gen Z in the House Research Study

FleishmanHillard – Conquering the Philips Healthcare Gate System

MasterCard and PRIME Research – From “Why Mobile” to “What’s Next:” How Communications Research Drives Business Results

Merritt Group Inc. – Novetta Operation SMN Announcement

NSBC & Paul Werth Associates – Wear It! Campaign Awareness Survey

Stein IAS for Trelleborg Marine Systems – The Performance People

Satellite Media Tours

Winner: Johnson & Johnson with Edelman

“For All You Love” is a Johnson & Johnson global brand equity camping designed to inspire and empower caring. The campaign serves to remind people of the positive impact of caring and celebrates the ways we care for loved ones every day and over a lifetime. “How Love Works,” a science based approach to decoding the truth behind love, was on of the campaign’s programs. Significant research has been conducted on the role of mothers and so as part of the larger program, Johnson & Johnson launched a documentary entitled “Distinctly Dad” to champion the unique role of fathers.

To gain earned media coverage in outlets across the nation, the partners signed up Dr. Pruett as a spokesperson for the satellite media tour. As a well-respected expert on child and family development who focuses specifically on the critical role of father, Dr. Pruett added the necessary credibility to maximize the impact of the tour and campaign. The media tour exceeded expectations, helping to reach a broad consumer audience across the United States. There were 168 airings on both TV and radio reaching a combined 7,400,000 viewers and listeners.

SEM/ SEO Initiatives or Campaign

Winner: AstraZeneca

While AstraZeneca, a global biopharmaceutical company, has no problem developing and manufacturing breakthrough medicines, they needed help to rapidly secure top talent globally in highly competitive and growing industry. In an integrated effort between SEO and PPC, 451 Marketing modified spend on campaigns based on monthly reports on keyword ranking. For high-ranking keywords, the company increased spend allowing AstraZeneca to outrank competitors on hose keywords and dominate digital shelf space. The partners executed extensive training on best practices and tips for social platforms and crafted custom social cover photos and image templates to advertise jobs as well as company culture.

Search and social integration were just what the doctor ordered for a healthy boost in traffic and qualified applicants. Year over year, 451 Marketing significantly grew the AstraZeneca Careers presence across every social network. On the paid advertising side, nearly 1 million searchers were served AstraZeneca job opening ads. Of them, nearly 6,500 clicked to learn more. Ad positioning has remained strong, with ads typically appearing in the top two ad spots within search results.

Honorable Mentions

70kft

C-4 Analytics – Conquest Campaign for JM Lexus

The Hoffman Agency – The Search is On for Ecommerce Leader

Molina Healthcare

Transamerica – In-house SEM Team

Small PR Firm of the Year

Winner: J Public Relations Inc.

J Public Relations specializes in PR for luxury lifestyle and hospitality brands and, luckily for the bi-coastal agency, it has experienced a taste of luxury itself. Over the last several years it has seen double-digit growth year over year and was on track to bill $6 million as 2015 was hurtling to a close.

Here is just one example of how JPR has achieved this rapid growth:

Casa Madrona Hotel & Spa opened an 11-room Mansion in May 2014. JPR’s challenge was to create a buzz-worthy stunt to promote the opening. The grand idea: a Champagne Drone delivery amenity, which would position the Mansion as the next big thing in luxury travel. Guests who booked a stay at the Mansion received a state of the art drone delivery of chilled champagne on the Mansion’s two-tiered deck. JPR conducted an actual drone delivery at the grand opening event.

To win media attention, JPR launched a social media contest, #DroneDelivery, asking the public to say what their ideal drone delivery would be. Contestants shared their requests via Instagram, Twitter or Facebook and tagged #dronedelivery @casamadrona for a chance to win a one-night stay at the Mansion.

The contest helped JPR secure top-tier media placements including six print articles, 50 online features and more than 200 broadcast segments. Casa Madrona was featured on Fox Business News, Good Morning America, CNN, ABC News, HLN and more.

Social Media Campaign

Co-Winner: PepsiCo

PepsiCo gave college students a chance to win a meeting with a company executive plus a summer internship via a user-generated contest conducted through LinkedIn. It developed video and other content from the program that expressed PepsiCo’s thought leadership and key messages, which were intended for a wider audience of influencers, investors and media.

The company wanted to continue its strategy of leveraging mature digital platforms to create scale and earned media for the brand’s content and messaging through this innovative content. PepsiCo was able to position itself as a company that is exploring unconventional ways to attract and engage with potential talent across the globe and raise awareness of the brand as a company that employs innovative people.

Social Media Campaign

Co-Winner: Unilever with Weber Shandwick

There are around one billion Google searches relating to hair care every month, but the hair care sector was missing a trick: no brand had invested in YouTube tutorials to help women with their hair. Unilever grabbed the opportunity and brought all its hair care brands together for the first time to create All Things Hair. The company had never run a global digital program and never brought its hair care brands together in one marketing campaign, but Unilever put a bold plan in place to create a credible YouTube channel with relevant hair care content and tips for consumers.

Unilever’s pioneering campaign paid off: it now unequivocally owns hair care content on YouTube. The “All Things Hair” channel became the 4th biggest of all hair and beauty brand channels on the platform and the most liked channel globally after celebrity channels with more than 85 million total views and 400,000 subscribers since the effort was launched.

Speeches

Winner: Greeley and Hansen

On Greeley and Hansen’s 100-year anniversary, the company put its employees at the forefront of its communications to look back over its accomplished history and gaze into a future powered by its workforce. The company highlighted its employees’ involvement with industry organizations that advance the profession of engineering and architecture through research, education and advocacy. Greeley and Hansen also recognized its employees commitment beyond engineering and architectural work to improving the quality of life in the communities where they live and work by creating better environments. By putting its people front and center on such and important day in the company’s history, they set the right tone internally to head into the next 100 years of success as a company, success that can only be had when a company recognizes its wealth of individual talent.

Honorable Mentions

Ed Markey – Goodyear Blimp Christening Speech

Trade Show/Event PR

Winner: Hill+Knowlton Strategies

On the San Diego Comic-Con show floor, Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment provided the opportunity for VIP guests and convection attendees to gain the powers of Professor Xavier and take control of Cerebro, the world’s most powerful machine for mutants. Using the latest Oculus Rift development kit, fans sat in Professor X’s chair and donned the Cerebro helmet to scour the show floor in an attempt to find the mutant Mystique The demo provided a natural pairing of the hot technology with comic themes of the X-Men universe to generate mainstream awareness and top the sales charts for X-Men Days of Future Past on Blu-ray and DVD.

Pairing the Oculus with the Cerebro experience was a natural fit that seamlessly delivered a unique demo and also brought further attention to the brand as a leader in innovation and digital market among movie studios. With the growth of Digital HD, the experience was another reminder of the company using innovation to provide fun and engaging digital content. On the week of its release, the film was the top seller on the Nielsen VideoScan’s First Alert chart for both Blu-ray and DVD. The demo also saw 8.6 million impressions across 144 articles about the experience, with key placements in outlets like the Associated Press, Engadget, Fortune and The Verge.

Twitter Campaign

Winner: TogoRun

For more than 40 years, L’Oreal Paris has celebrated the intrinsic worth and beauty of all women through its iconic tagline “Because You’re Worth It.” To this day, these words have remained timeless and continue to embody the priorities, passions and ambitions of women. To delve deeper into the true meaning of worth and the role it plays in the lives women today, the company commissioned a study on self-worth with IPSOS. The research found that in addition to accomplishing goals overcoming adversity and pursuing passions, the key drive of self-worth in women stemmed from giving back to others. The current conversations around women braking glass-ceilings and going after what they want regardless of gender gave L’Oreal the perfect moment in time to ignite a conversation among women about self-worth and drive awareness and engagement for the brand’s philanthropic program, Women of Worth (WOW), which celebrated real women making a beautiful difference in the world through philanthropy by recognizing ten women each year for the impact they are making in their communities.

As WOW kicked off its ninth year, the company leveraged the study findings to spark a conversation about self-worth by hosting the first-ever WOW Forum on Twitter. This daylong discussion united women behind a powerful and culturally relevant concept and captured the hearts and minds of women across the country. In addition to driving awareness and conversation, the WOW Forum helped drive 96 percent positive sentiment for the brand. The forum saw an astounding 51,000 individual Tweets in a 25-hour period.

Video Program

Winner: Wray Ward

Sunbrella has long been the number one outdoor performance fabric for use on boats, outdoor patio furniture and shading structures. Over the years, Sunbrella has expanded its product offerings inside the home with fabrics that tap into fashion-forward color and design trends, intricate weaves, compelling textures and a soft hand, all with the same durability of its outdoor fabrics. The company launched a campaign to demonstrate the versatility of its fabrics for all aspect of the target consumer’s life—at home, on the water and on an adventure. They sought to educate interior designers about eh beauty, variety and versatility of the Sunbrella fabrics and that when it comes to Sunbrella, you don’t have to sacrifice beauty for durability.

The company reached influencers in the interior design community through a well-attended designer event held at a custom beach house. Consumers were educated about the durability of the fabric through in-person cleaning demonstrations. Visits to the company website exceeded 47,000 sessions, effectively doubling the traffic numbers of the previous year. Domino magazine also featured the project in a series of three makeover galleries that were promoted to their readership through a weekly e-blast.

Web Site Marketing

Anticipating the most promising spinal cord injury study in years, the Christopher & Dana Reeve Foundation challenged Coyne to develop a year-long campaign to break news of the research and raise $15 million in donations to fund additional research. The partners used the research to launch “The Big Idea,” a digital campaign to raise money to fund epidural stimulation for 36 more individuals living with spinal cord injuries (SCI). Coyne built and launched ReeveBigIdea.org to serve as the campaign’s hub for resources, research, social aggregation and donations.

The site not only looks terrific. But also functions flawlessly for those with no or limited use of their hands. Tested by both Eric LeGrand and Bill Cawley, a manager at the Reeve Foundation living with SCO, the team made every effort to ensure that the site is functional for all ranges of abilities. By the end of 2014, The Big Idea had raised $7.5 million, 50 percent of its goal, which represents 18 of the 36 individuals with paralysis who will receive epidural stimulation. This is partially due to traditional media results linking to the site, including stories on Good Morning America, Daily Mail and People.com. The campaign received multiple mentions across social platforms from the likes of Jerry Seinfeld, Mark Wahlberg and Whoopi Goldberg.

Word of Mouth/Viral Campaign

Co-Winner: Blonde 2.0

Yo is a simple app. Perhaps, in its original form and function, it’s the simplest app ever made. The app sends the word “Yo” to a contact. That’s all. And yet, it is a social network, a notification system and a communications platform all at the same time. Moreover, when it first launched in 2014, using it was considered the ultimate mark of being an early adopter. However, when the company set out to introduce the app to the world—it wasn’t that simple. They company sought to get as much coverage as possible and hopefully also help drive downloads of the app. It needed as many people as possible to say “Yo” to as many people and on as many platforms as it could reach. However, it knew that Yo was unique and required a different approach unlike anything else that it’d worked on before.

Within days, combined efforts resulted in around 3,600 articles covering the app, including top-tier tech and financial publications, mainstream outlets and even prime time television shows like The Colbert Report. From top-tier publications, through world-famous television shows to mainstream print media—everyone in the world was saying “Yo.” The success is even more impressive considering the fact that both the Amazon Fire phone and Facebook Slingshot stores came out on the same day as Yo’s outreach and it was able to push both aside.

Word of Mouth/Viral Campaign

Co-Winner: Fisher Price with Weber Shandwick

Fisher-Price, founded 85 years ago on the belief that play is the way children learn and develop best, has always been there for parents. But, over time, parents knew the company for what it made—toys—not for why it made them. The company needed an emotional, groundbreaking approach to engage new, young parents around the world, to reintroduce Fisher-Price as their nurturing partner, and to reinforce the brand’s commitment to giving families the best possible start. The company discovered a compelling truth: regardless of country, custom or culture, all parents share a universal wish—that their newborn children have the best possible start in life. The brand set out to capture those wishes in an unscripted short film, reminding families in an emotional a moving way that Fisher-Price is a trusted partner for helping their children learn and grow. The brand chose a truly global and symbolic moment to produce and share it around the world all in a 24-hour period—the start of the New Year, the one day the world is waiting or a little hop to arrive.

With 1.7 million views in 24 hours, ultimately soaring to 9 million, it is Fisher-Price’s top-viewed, most shared video ever. The online conversation was up 512 percent with #wishesforbaby the brand’s most-used hashtag to date. Facebook reach topped 42 million, Twitter impressions were more than 24 million and the quality of online conversation was unusually personal and emotional, with many parents sharing pictures of their own babies. Media coverage in outlets like TODAY, Time, Wall Street Journal, Mashable and Parents garnered 650 million impressions.

WOW! Award

Co-Winner: Hill+Knowlton Strategies

To generate newfound excitement and record-breaking sales for the home entertainment release of Wes Anderson’s breakout indie film The Grand Budapest Hotel—before it took home “Best Picture” at the golden Globes and swept the Oscars—Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment and Hill + Knowlton Strategies (H+K) went the extra mile to build a compelling story, brick by brick—50,000 LEGO bricks, to be exact. In order to bring out the whimsical humor of Anderson’s film, Fox looked to the small bricks and a team of Anderson-crazed artisans to surprise and delight fans and grab media’s attention with a time-lapse video and exclusive LEGO hotel unveil as grand as Anderson’s best adventure yet.

The Grand Budapest Hotel was the best-selling Fox Searchlight comedy of 2014 and Anderson’s best-selling digital title to date. The team obtained a wide range of domestic media coverage from home entertainment, ravel, visual arts/culture and business writers, resulting in nearly 70 million consumer impressions and more than 200 stories within 48 hours—from national broadcast coverage to national print and online coverage. In the first 24 hours of the time-lapse video release, more than 150,000 views were garnered with 436,000 cumulative views and an overwhelming flood of positive comments that continued three months after the stunt.

Honorable Mentions

Cohn & Wolfe – Launching a Superhero Tablet

Edelman – Activision Call of Duty: Seeding the Spacey Speech

Edelman – Arby’s Tips Its Hat to Millennials by Integrating the Brand into a Pop Culture Moment

Finn Partners – Celebrating Love Is Love Marriage Equality

Marina Maher Communications and Crowdtap Inc.- U by Kotex Taps into a Universal Female Truth, Connects with Young Women Everywhere and Saves the Undies

MSLGROUP – It’s OK to Spoil

Southwest Airlines – Wedding in the Sky

WOW! Award

Co-Winner: IW Group

McDonald’s wanted to re-energize their brand and gain new relevance among multicultural Millennials in the New York Tri-State area through the B-Boy Royal. The company created the local breakdancing competitions that emphasized and celebrated the art form’s New York City origins by distinguishing the B-Boy Royal from other local and company sponsored dance competitions. The team built alliances with leading b-boys and organizations to gain credibility and acceptance in the breakdance community, where corporate-sponsored events are traditionally shunned.

The brand secured hip hop YouTube sensation Dumbfounded as the host and musical guest for the event, arranged a children’s “b-boy clinic” on the day before the event at the Ronald McDonald House in New York City, and educated media on the current global b-boy phenomenon and growing diversity of its practitioners. The sold-out show garnered 136 million impressions for the brand in 31 target media placements. It was so successful that the McDonald’s USA team expressed interest to turn the B-Boy Royal into a national total market program.

Honorable Mentions

Cohn & Wolfe – Launching a Superhero Tablet

Edelman – Activision Call of Duty: Seeding the Spacey Speech

Edelman – Arby’s Tips Its Hat to Millennials by Integrating the Brand into a Pop Culture Moment

Finn Partners – Celebrating Love Is Love Marriage Equality

Marina Maher Communications and Crowdtap Inc.- U by Kotex Taps into a Universal Female Truth, Connects with Young Women Everywhere and Saves the Undies

MSLGROUP – It’s OK to Spoil

Southwest Airlines – Wedding in the Sky

Category: Blog

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2016 Platinum PR Awards Information

The 2016 Platinum PR Awards will be accepting entries beginning January 31, 2015. The entry deadline for this program will be Friday, April 29, 2016, with a final deadline of Friday, May 5, 2016. The period of eligibility for this program will be May 1, 2015 – May 5, 2016.